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- By Native News Online Staff
On Tuesday afternoon, Congress approved a major spending package that will keep most federal agencies funded through September, averting what would have been the second government shutdown in four months.
However, lawmakers left a critical piece undone: funding for the Department of Homeland Security. That omission sets the stage for a contentious fight over immigration policy that could trigger another lapse in operations at DHS components such as the TSA, FEMA and ICE.
The bipartisan funding measure the House narrowly passed 217–214 only extends DHS financing for one week. Many Democratic lawmakers are refusing to back a longer-term funding plan unless Republicans concede to their demands for new limits on Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, particularly in the wake of last month’s fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens during federal immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota.
That short-term extension sets up another high-stakes fight in the coming days over DHS agencies including the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
House leaders framed the vote as a necessary step to keep the government open and provide stability for federal workers and programs, even as major policy disputes remain unresolved.
The Senate is expected to take up the measure later Tuesday, with President Donald Trump signaling he would sign the bill if it reaches his desk.
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